


A Land Reborn

by Cyber_Emblem



Series: Crusaders Reborn Saga [4]
Category: Fire Emblem, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: Gen, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24523027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyber_Emblem/pseuds/Cyber_Emblem
Summary: A sequel to Crusaders Reborn. The first chapter was written and posted in order to celebrate the original story's fifth anniversary.
Series: Crusaders Reborn Saga [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1242965
Kudos: 3





	A Land Reborn

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm posting this two days early. June 5th will be the 5th anniversary of Crusaders Reborn. I was scratching my head over what to do, but then I realized "I'd always said I'd eventually do a sequel, even if I don't plan to do it all at once, I can at least START it in celebration of the anniversary. So that's what I'm doing. Posting a continuation of the C.R story for its fifth anniversary. Don't worry, later chapters will be longer and better, I won't be putting myself on an artificial time crunch. I hope you can enjoy this for what it is.

Adean had promised herself that she wouldn't cry. However, when she arrived in Belhalla and saw the faces of her dear family, and the faces of her dear lost friends plastered all over the younger generation, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing freely. Midayle didn't fully comprehend why her mother seemed so upset during what was supposed to be a happy moment, but she wasn't a toddler so she knew better than to ask, so she just hugged her mother and said "It's OK mommy..."

Faval did a double-take when he saw her for the first time. It had been years, but he recognized the resemblance to his own mother immediately. Patty, on the other hand, didn't remember her mother at all, and upon meeting Adean, declared "Oh! So that's what mom looked like!"

"Not quite. The Lady Brigid wouldn't have been caught dead in a dress. Or at the very least, caught dead in a dress that conservative." remarked Oifey "From what I could understand, Lady Adean's appeal was traditional courtly beauty, while your mother's was more of a 'feral' beauty."

"...that's... a fairly accurate assessment, though I do wish so many young men didn't drive themselves crazy over something so superficial." remarked Adean. "Oh, and he's right about the dress. The only times that I could ever get Brigid into one, she got revenge on them by cutting huge chunks out of them, making them far more risqué then they were ever meant to be. I hate gambling, but I'm willing to bet money that my sister didn't wear a dress to her own wedding." Adean sighed "Please promise me that you won't subject me to that someday Patty dear, if I missed out helping my sister with hers, I want to at least help out with yours."

Patty glanced over her current outfit. "Eh, I could probably go either way. I don't have a problem with dresses, I just don't particularly like them. I'm generally just practical so... I make absolutely no promises."

Adean sighed "Well, at least I know that my own daughter won't give me any grief."

"Speaking of which, did you get to help Lana pick out a dress? Because the talk around here is that the coronation should double as a wedding." remarked Faval.

Adean's eyes widened dramatically, and she rushed off in order to find her elder daughter.

"Wait... did she not know?" asked Faval to no one in particular.

"I guess she didn't." answered Oifey.

* * *

At around this time, Arthur and co were combing Belhalla's basement. Arthur had remembered Skaro's remark that his father was "hidden away" in Belhalla's basement, so he was following up on that lead.

The only problem was, "Belhalla's Basement" was a fairly generic description, and the area in question was comparable in size to the castle itself. Belhalla caverns or catacombs would've ben a better descriptor.

After about an hour of searching, Ced came to Arthur and said to him "We aren't going to find him at this rate. Why didn't we get Cumha, Sara, and Salem to come down and help us again?"

Arthur stopped short... and facepalmed "That's actually a fairly good question. Why didn't we ask them for help?"

So, they went back and fetched the trio. Fifteen minutes later, they found Azel, petrified as he cast a fire spell.

Sara readied the Kia Staff and began to chant the spell. The stone began to crack and glow. Then the stone shattered and Azel collapsed. Arthur immediately caught him, while Teeny latched onto Azel from behind, crying. Fee noticed that Arthur's cloak was slightly on fire for whatever reason, so she patted him down.

"Hey, old man. You've been asleep for a while. You recognize us?" asked Arthur.

Azel stared up into his son's face for several long moments, then tears began to stream down his face and then he buried his face in his son's arms. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." he whispered. Then he began to cry loudly.

* * *

Adean had been talking with her daughter for an extended period of time when she spotted them practically dragging a half-comatose Azel out of the basement.

"Oh dear gods, Azel!" she gasped, her daughter getting married suddenly becoming a trivial matter as she rushed over to help attend to him.

Azel awoke again in the castle infirmary. The first thing that he saw at his bedside was Adean, who was on shift at the moment. Still groggy and half delirious, he groaned out "Are you an angel?"

Adean smiled. "No Azel, it's just me."

"So I was close enough." responded Azel drily, getting a laugh out of her. Then she became serious again. "Alright Azelle, I'm not sure about how much you know, but... well maybe I should ask you first... what's your mental state?"

Azel's face grew as stony as his brother's face often had been. "If you're trying to prepare me for the worst in the most sensitive way possible, don't bother. I appreciate it, but there isn't a point. I went to Belhalla in order to see if I could come to an arrangement with my brother that would protect my family. I was ambushed by Loptyr mages instead and turned into a statue. I've spent the last decade and a half as a living statue. Conscious, but unable to move, imprisoned right under my brother's nose."

He gave Adean a glassy stare "I've had enough time to go mad and then get so bored of that that I went sane again. Some of the priests involved in my capture were sadists who would visit me routinely with the latest horrible update on my family. They had no reason to do it other than to be petty and cruel. The only good thing to come from that is that they kept me up to date, so... you don't have to break the news to me, I know. Tailtu and Arvis are gone. I did them wrong and we can never reconcile." he said, knuckles turning white as he gripped his bedsheets and tears dripped down his cheeks.

Adean looked away. She wasn't quite sure what to say. "That... it's hard to find a bright side, isn't it? I want to tell you to look for one, but the best I can come up with is 'you still have your children and your niece', but that's hardly a comfort, is it? They're grown. I can cheerfully say 'well now you know you'll have all the time in the world to help guide them through the trials of life', but... that rings empty even to me..."

"Isn't it more like we can go through the trials of life _together_ now?" asked Azel. "I probably stopped aging while I was a statue, so I'm essentially not even a decade older than most of these kids. In fact, some of them might be older than me now, I don't quite know, I kinda lost track of exactly how old I am and what the exact year is. I just know that I was hovering around 30 when this happened."

"...if we follow that logic, then that means that Shanan and Oifey would be older than you now." said Adean caught up in his line of logic.

Azel didn't react well to that little revelation. He spilled his water all over himself, then threw the glass out the window then started swearing, leaving Adean to desperately attempt to calm him down. "Why am I still around? Why was I brought back? What purpose do I serve in the world anymore?!" he cried. "Why do I get to live when Tailtu had to die..." he said quietly when he finally calmed down. "What purpose do I serve living without her."

"I can't answer that question Azel... I suppose you'll just have to find your purpose from now on. I wish you the best of luck." she said sincerely.

"Yea... oh, look at me, sitting here feeling sorry for myself and I haven't even bothered to ask how you've been. Where's Midir? Whatever happened to him?"

"We... weren't separated by Belhalla, thank the gods, and he was with me helping with the children for many years. Then around ten years ago, I got pregnant with our third child, and Midir decided to go to Jungby for a special gift and... went missing. I haven't seen him since. Apparently, a reliable source claims that he befell the same fate as you, and that we'll find him there in Jungby. Once we finish business here, my children and my niece and nephew are going there to look for him."

"I hope you find him and that you can have a happy reunion Adean, but... I must warn you to temper your expectations." said Azel. "remember what I said about madness. If his imprisonment is anything like mine, then he's been trapped in a single spot for a decade. Who knows what that may have done to him. I hope and pray for the best possible reunion for your family, but... you need to prepare yourself in case the best doesn't happen. Even if he kept his sanity, I doubt he'll be quite the same as when he left you."


End file.
